Daniel Castellano is
by Ferdy 63
Summary: Daniel Castellano is my happy ending. This is one in a series of what Danny means to Mindy. Pretty much Dandy fluff just because I feel like it. Hope you like and reviews are always welcome. This first ficlet is rated K but that may change as time goes on.
1. Danny Castellano is my happy ending

With Mindy on maternity leave, things had been hectic at the practice. They'd all been taking on Mindy's patients and handling her deliveries. For some strange reason, babies always picked the worst possible time to make their arrivals and the past few weeks had been no exception. Danny had worked every day during the week until nearly 7:00 pm and had spent two nights at the hospital with difficult deliveries. He was beyond exhausted when he finally crawled into bed early Saturday morning.

Sometime around 5:00 am he woke to the sound of "Vacation" by the Go Gos blasting through the wall from the nursery next door. He could hear Mindy singing along. He loved her but why couldn't she just let him sleep for a few hours? He crawled out of bed and schlumped next door grumbling, "Min, hey Min, could you keep it down please? I need some sleep."

Mindy looked up at him with a huge smile on her face. She was holding their daughter and dancing around the room in complete bliss. "Min, please can you just turn the music down? I gotta get some rest." He knew he sounded grumpy but he was just too tired to care.

"Oh, well, exsqueeze us. I can't help it if Gracie likes to jam to the Go Gos," she told him as she held his gorgeous month old baby girl up to him. She seemed to be enjoying the music as much as her Mom. Danny kissed her forehead and Mindy's before grumbling again, "Okay, just not so loud, huh?" Then he turned to stumble back to bed.

Before he even got through the bedroom door, he wanted to kick himself. How could he act so grumpy towards the two ladies who made his life such a joy? Mindy was the love of his life and also happened to be his best friend. Without her, he'd still be bitter and alone. And Gracie, god she was just everything. He'd been in awe ever since she'd taken her first breath. He turned around to go and apologize to his beautiful wife and child but he stopped at the door because he could hear Mindy talking softly.

"I know he seems like a grumpy pants, Grace," Mindy cooed, "but your Daddy is really a softie underneath it all. You know when I first met him, I didn't really like him very much. He was kind of mean but it didn't take long for me to figure him out. You know once he even pretended that he didn't care any more about me than the lamp in his office. I had a lot of fun making him admit otherwise. He tried to push me away for the longest time but as you'll find out, little miss, I don't give up easily. I knew there was a good guy underneath that curmudgeon exterior. He does the sweetest things when you're least expecting them like the time he learned the dance from one of my favorite music videos as a secret Santa present or when he reads Bridget Jones Diary to me in a silly British accent when I'm sick. But, Gracie, you know the very best thing he ever did? He gave me you. That's the greatest thing anyone could ever do. I love you so much, sweet girl," Mindy whispered.

Just then Danny stepped inside and walked up behind Mindy, putting his arms around both her and little Grace resting in her arms. "I'm sorry," he said as he kissed her cheek and rubbed the baby's cheek with his thumb. "I didn't mean to be so grumpy with my favorite girls."

"Oh, we're fine, aren't we?" Mindy said, snuggling Grace closer. "I was just telling your daughter all sorts of secrets about you, Dr. Castellano. "

"Yeah, I heard some of that. You know it's only fair that she hear some secrets about her Mom as well. Like how about the time you got arrested for riding a bike into someone's pool or when you went out with that weirdo Deslaurier or maybe about the time you walked into the co-ed steam room completely naked?" Danny teased.

"Do not listen to your father, Gracie," Mindy whispered, "He's getting old and sometimes he doesn't remember things the right way."

Danny moved around Mindy's side and took their now sleeping daughter in his arms. "She is so beautiful, Mindy. Can you believe how absolutely beautiful she is?" he asked in wonder.

"I can, Danny. She's got Castellano genes. What did you expect?" Mindy said. He smiled his crooked smile as she reached to cup his cheek. "Hey why don't we put her down and you try to get some sleep? Sorry we woke you."

"Can we take her with us? I miss you guys so much when I'm at the hospital. I know it's bad but every baby I deliver I compare to our girl and none of them stack up. You did good, Min, real good," Danny said as he walked back toward their bedroom with Gracie snug against his chest.

"I did have a little help, you know," Mindy laughed as they snuggled back under the comforter with their daughter lying on Danny's chest. Mindy scooted over next to him and laid her hand on Grace's back. Danny immediately began to doze off again.

Mindy lay watching the two loves of her life sleeping peacefully beside her. Grace had Mindy's dark skin and hair but her eyes and lips were tiny replicas of Danny's. She was, it seemed, the perfect mixture of them both. She didn't want to go to sleep because it meant closing her eyes and she was enjoying the sight before her too much but the peace of the moment slowly lulled her to slumber as well.

If Mindy were narrating this scene, she'd say something like this, "Life is unpredictable and messy and sad and glorious and terrible and wonderful, and just when you think you have it figured out, you get thrown a curve ball. The trick is that you can never give up. There's a happy ending out there for you somewhere. I found mine with Daniel Castellano and it's better than all those rom com endings put together. Now, get out of here and go find your own. We need our sleep."


	2. Dannny Casetllano is my best friend

Mindy took another selfie wearing a different dress and sent it to Danny, "Does this meet your approval as a date outfit?" Within a few seconds she received a reply, "Dress is okay but lose the giant earrings. You look nice." That made her smile. His texts always seemed to make her feel better.

Tonight was her first big date with Cliff and she had been talking about it all day at work. Danny, of course, had offered his sage advice on what NOT to do. As much of a pain as he was sometimes, he always had her best interest at heart.

It was weird asking Danny's advice so often. It used to be that she'd call Gwen for things like this but over the past year, especially since coming back from Haiti, that had changed. Gwen was still a great friend and would undoubtedly be her matron of honor one day (please God), but Danny was her first go to for almost everything now.

The fact that she and Danny had become friends at all was a miracle. They couldn't have been more different, but somehow it just worked. Sure, they argued about almost everything but when it came right down to it, he had her back and she had his. They'd never talked about it. It just happened.

She remembered the first time she'd really felt close to him. It had been the night of the disastrous Christmas party when she'd found out about Josh's girlfriend. She'd have fallen apart completely if he hadn't stayed around to talk to her and basically hold her hand. That was when she realized what a really deep down nice guy Danny Castellano was.

While she was in Haiti with Casey, they'd written each other countless letters. It was probably the only time that they'd communicated without any disagreements. She'd really enjoyed those letters and pictures because she missed New York and her coworkers so much. Truth be told she missed Danny most of all.

A couple of times she'd wondered if maybe there was just a spark of something more between them but that was silly, wasn't it? She wasn't his type at all. He, on the other hand, was some nice eye candy and she should know after all those photos on Weiner night. Sometimes she remembered how it felt when he'd grabbed her hand on their flight back from Santa Fe. It was nice. And then there'd been the night in the doctor's lounge right after she'd cut her hair short. There was a tension between them that night that was different, like maybe something was about to happen. She'd felt a little self-conscious under his gaze and had blurted out her plans with Casey. Whatever that had been it hadn't happened again.

She wondered sometimes what it would feel like to kiss Danny. He had these perfectly shaped lips. They were almost feminine looking (not that she'd ever dare say that to him) and those beautiful long eyelashes. Being close to him always caused a little flutter in her chest. His gaze was so direct like he could see her thoughts. It made her uncomfortable but in a good way. Thinking about anything beyond friendship with Danny was out of the question. He didn't think of her like that. He was her friend and that was enough. At least that's what she told herself whenever unfriendlike feelings started to surface.

She was taking the rollers out of her hair and checking her makeup in the mirror when she got a call. It was Cliff. "Hi, there, handsome attorney who's taking me out tonight," she said as sexily as she knew how.

"Hey, Mindy. Listen I'm so sorry but my grandmother is really sick. They had to put her in the hospital so I need to leave to go home and see my family for a few days. I'm really sorry but would you mind if we do a raincheck on the date tonight?" Cliff asked apologetically.

"Oh, sure. I know you gotta be with your family. It's okay,"' she said dejectedly.

"I was looking forward to this, Mindy and I really apologize. I'll make it up to you. I promise. How about when I get back I take you to dinner and get us tickets to that new musical you've been wanting to see?" he asked.

"Oh, you don't have to do that but yes, please. That would be great," she answered excitedly.

"Okay, thanks Mindy. I'll call you when I get back," Cliff said before ending the call.

"Well, all dressed up and no place to go," Mindy muttered to herself. Just then her phone buzzed. Another text from Danny popped up.

"Is Mr. Wonderful there yet?" it asked.

"He had to cancel. Family emergency." She typed, followed by a sad face emoji.

"That sucks, but you look too nice to stay in. Want to grab a slice with me and go to a movie or something?" he asked.

Again, he'd made her feel better with just a simple text.

"Sure. Sounds good but I get to pick the movie. I refuse to see another World War II drama like you took me to last time. It's too depressing. There's a new comedy with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. " she responded.

"Oh, great. Not only do I have to sit through the movie tonight but you'll be talking about it all day tomorrow, won't you?" he asked.

"Probably. You love it, Castellano. I know that's where you get all your romantic ideas from. Your game has definitely improved since you've known me because of all the romantic comedies I've made you watch." She told him.

"Fine. I'll meet you at the subway. Don't be late. I get grumpy when I'm hungry." He texted back.

"So, you're saying the problem is that you're continuously hungry? " Mindy quickly responded.

"Ha Ha. See you in 20 minutes, Lahiri." He responded.

"Okay, I'll be there buddy." She replied.

If Mindy were narrating this moment, she'd say that sometimes your best friends aren't the people in your life who are most like you. Sometimes it's the people or more specifically the person who is most different from you. That person sees you honestly without any bias or preconceived notions. That person is someone who will tell you the truth but who'll also try to protect you from getting hurt because they know your weaknesses. Mindy had always been someone who had a lot of friends. Now, her very best friend in the world was Dr. Daniel Castellano and he was waiting for her at the subway. She'd lost out on a date with Cliff tonight but she wasn't sad or depressed. She was looking forward to a night out with her best friend.


	3. The most infuriating man I know

"Oooh! That Castellano makes me so mad. Sometimes I wish I didn't hit like a girl," Mindy fumed as she repeatedly punched the elevator call button. Danny had just finished pushing her buttons and now here she was taking it out on the elevator. She made the mistake of mentioning that she had a date tonight. He, of course, had to ask her all about it right in front of everyone else in the office.

"So, what is it this time, another lawyer with a drug problem or an unenthusiastic pastor? No, let me guess, it's a professional skateboarder, right? You just have the best track record with guys," he quipped as he stood at the desk signing off on a chart.

"No, Danny, none of the above. Marc, with a c, is a male hand and foot model. He is very well groomed and by the way he's 6'2"," she replied with a smile as Betsy oohed and aahed.

"A hand and foot model?" Danny asked with a smirk. "Is that really a thing? You gotta be kidding me?"

"Yes, it's a thing. Gwen fixed me up with him. She says he's great and she has good taste unlike some people I know. And by the way, I may not have the greatest track record but at least I have one. Have you had anything except sleazy hookups since your wife left you?" she snarkily replied.

"Just because I don't announce my personal life to everyone in the office doesn't mean I don't have one," he told her. "That's why they call it a private life, Mindy."

"Oh, well, you…you just wish you had something to talk about, Castellano. That's what this is, jealousy," she was all but yelling as he shook his head and walked back into his office, closing the door behind him. Mindy started walking after him to finish giving him a piece of her mind but Jeremy stepped in her path.

"Now, Mindy, you have a date so why not let this go for today? I really don't want to have to fill out another form for you to sign," he begged her.

"Fine, but this is not over. YOU HEAR ME CASTELLANO?! This is not over," she said before storming into her own office. She took off her coat and sat down to eat a few sour straws to calm herself down. There had to be something addictive in those things, but they didn't really calm her down. Danny's comments had a way of getting to her. It was like he could read all the negative thoughts in her head that she tried so hard to shut out then he twisted them around and made them sound even worse before throwing them in her face.

He was the most infuriating man but he probably knew her better than almost anyone else in the world. It was Danny who kept her from completely losing it after she found out about Josh at the Christmas party. He helped her through the aftermath of the split with Casey. He was a good guy but he just needed to keep his mouth shut when it came to her dates.

She got up and grabbed her coat and purse before heading out to the elevator.

When the doors finally opened, she stepped into a thankfully empty car and pushed the button for the lobby. She took and deep breath and started to relax and look forward to her date. Just as the doors were about to close, an arm pushed in between them and Danny stepped in beside her. She rolled her eyes and turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge his presence but she knew he was smiling. Damn him!

He started humming some golden oldie song which was driving her crazy. She was just about to turn and tell him to shut his trap when the lights dimmed and the elevator suddenly stopped.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Mindy yelled. "Not now! Not with him!"

"Oh, come on Mindy. It's just a little brown out. Relax," he told her.

"Relax? Really? After all the crap you were talking earlier? I don't think so Castellano," she replied.

"What? Is it your time of the month or something? You can't take a joke?" he offered.

She felt like crying but she'd never let him see that. "Why do your 'jokes' always make me feel like crap?" she said.

"Oh, and you're just Ms. Mindy Perfect? You talk about my wife leaving me and my sweatiness and my being short. You don't think that makes me feel crappy? If you're gonna dish it out, you need to be able to take it," he told her.

She stared at him silently and he stared back. Both daring the other to blink first until finally she couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.

"I do make fun of your sweatiness a lot, don't I?" she said. "Sorry."

"Yeah, you do. Look I didn't mean to make you feel crappy earlier. I just hate to see you going out with another jerky guy, you know?" he said with his trademark crooked smile.

"Maybe this guy isn't a jerk. You don't know him," she said.

"Oh, come on, Mindy. A hand and foot model? He's gonna be a jerk, a conceited, snooty jerk. I'll bet you lunch at Gino's that you're sick of him within an hour," he offered. "Bet?"

"I don't want to bet you…"Mindy started.

"What's the matter? Afraid I'm right?" he teased.

"Oh, okay, you know what? I'm gonna take that bet mister. I bet that he is going to be great and you, sir, will owe me two slices of pizza and a cannoli," she responded.

Just then the elevator bumped and started moving again. "Thank God," they said in unison.

LATER

Danny was relaxing at home watching Deadliest Catch when his phone chimed. It was a text from Mindy. He picked up his phone and grinned at what she sent. It simply said: "You win! I hate you! What do you want for lunch tomorrow?"


End file.
